How to Configure an iPlanet Web Server

This procedure describes how to configure an instance of the iPlanet Web server to be highly available. Use the Netscape browser to interact with this procedure.

Consider the following points before you perform this procedure.

• Before you start, ensure that you have installed the browser on a machine that can access the network on which the cluster resides. You can install the browser on a cluster node or on the administrative workstation for the cluster.

• Your configuration files can reside on either a local file system or on the cluster file system.

• Any certificates that are installed for the secure instances must be installed from all cluster nodes. This installation involves running the admin console on each node. Thus, if a cluster has nodes n1, n2, n3, and n4, the installation steps are as follows.

  1. Run the admin server on node n1.

  2. From your Web browser, connect to the admin server as http://n1.domain:port-for example, http://n1.eng.sun.com:8888-or whatever you specified as the admin server port. The port is typically 8888.

  3. Install the certificate.

  4. Stop the admin server on node n1 and run the admin server from node n2.

  5. From the Web browser, connect to the new admin server as http://n2.domain:port, for example, http://n2.eng.sun.com:8888.

  6. Repeat these steps for nodes n3 and n4.

  After you have considered the preceding points, complete the following steps.

1. From the administrative workstation or a cluster node, start the Netscape browser.

2. On one of the cluster nodes, go to the directory https-admserv, then start the iPlanet admin server.

   # cd https-admserv # ./start

3. Enter the URL of the iPlanet admin server in the Netscape browser.

   The URL consists of the physical hostname and port number that the iPlanet installation script established in Step 4 of the server installation procedure, for example, n1.eng.sun.com:8888. When you perform Step 2 of this procedure, the ./start command displays the admin URL.

   When prompted, use the user ID and password you specified in Step 6 of the server installation procedure to log in to the iPlanet administration server interface.

4. Begin to administer the iPlanet Web Server instance that was created.

   If you need another instance, create a new one.

   The administration graphical interface provides a form with details of the iPlanet server configuration. You can accept the defaults on the form, with the following exceptions.

   • Verify that the server name is correct.

   • Verify that the server user is set as superuser.

   • Change the bind address field to one of the following addresses.

     • A logical hostname or shared address if you use DNS as your name service

     • The IP address associated with the logical hostname or shared address if you use NIS as your name service

5. Create a directory on the local disk of all the nodes to hold the logs, error files, and PID file that iPlanet Web Server manages.

   For iPlanet to work correctly, these files must be located on each node of the cluster, not on the cluster file system.

   Choose a location on the local disk that is the same for all the nodes in the cluster. Use the mkdir -p command to create the directory. Make nobody the owner of this directory.

   The following example shows how to complete this step.

   phys-schost-1# mkdir -p /var/pathname/http-instance/logs/

   ---

   Note -

   If you anticipate large error logs and PID files, do not put them in a directory under /var because they will overwhelm this directory. Rather, create a directory in a partition with adequate space to handle large files.

   ---

6. Edit the ErrorLog and PidLog entries in the magnus.conf file to reflect the directory created in the previous step, and synchronize the changes from the administrator's interface.

   The magnus.conf file specifies the locations for the error files and PID files. Edit this file to change the error and PID file locations to the directory that you created in Step 5. The magnus.conf file is located in the config directory of the iPlanet server instance. If the instance directory is located on the local file system, you must modify the magnus.conf file on each of the nodes.

   Change the entries as follows.

   # Current ErrorLog and PidLog entries ErrorLog /global/data/netscape/https-schost-1/logs/error PidLog /global/data/netscape/https-insecure-schost-1/logs/pid # New entries ErrorLog /var/pathname/http-instance/logs/error PidLog /var/pathname/http-instance/logs/pid

   As soon as the administrator's interface detects your changes, the interface displays a warning message, as follows.

   Warning: Manual edits not loaded Some configuration files have been edited by hand. Use the Apply button on the upper right side of the screen to load the latest configuration files.

   Click Apply as prompted.

   The administrator's interface then displays the following warning.

   Configuration files have been edited by hand. Use this button to load the latest configuration files.

   Click Load Configuration Files as prompted.

7. Use the administrator's interface to set the location of the access log file.

   From the administration graphical interface, click the Preferences tab and then Logging Options on the side bar. A form is then displayed for configuring the Access Log parameter.

   Change the location of the log file to the directory that you created in Step 5.

   For example, make the following changes to the log file.

   Log File: /var/pathname/http-instance/logs/access

8. Click Save to save your changes.

   Do not click Save and Apply-doing so starts iPlanet Web Server.